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Arthas Menethil
Lordaeronian}} |Row 4 title = Gender: |Row 4 info = Male |Row 5 title = House: |Row 5 info = Menethil |Row 6 title = Occupation: |Row 6 info = Lich King of the Scourge Champion of the Lich King (formerly) King of Lordaeron (unrecognized) Knight of the Silver Hand (formerly) Crown Prince of Lordaeron (formerly) |Row 7 title = Affiliations: |Row 7 info = * |Row 8 title = Status: |Row 8 info = |Row 9 title = Relatives: |Row 9 info = Terenas Menethil II†, father Lianne Menethil†, mother Calia Menethil†, sister Unknown brother-in-law Unknown niece Jaina Proudmoore, former lover}} Prince Arthas Menethil was the son of King Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron and heir to the throne. Trained by Muradin Bronzebeard and mentored as a Paladin by Uther the Lightbringer, Arthas seemed to have a promising future as a good king and a champion of the Light. However, he turned out to become one of the most evil beings on Azeroth, though not entirely of his own will. When the Scourge invaded his home and threatened his people, Arthas fought his hardest to save them. Chasing the Dreadlord Mal'ganis, the one he thought responsible for this to the frozen continent of Northrend, he met with his old friend Muradin who told him of a powerful weapon: the runeblade Frostmourne, hidden somewhere on the continent. Together, they located the sword, but Muradin was struck down by the powers within its cavern. Leaving his fallen friend to carry out his vengeance, he picked up the cursed runeblade that took his soul, and slew the Dreadlord and his forces. The leader of the Scourge, the Lich King Ner'zhul, spoke to him through the blade, and made him the first of his Death Knights and his greatest champion. Returning to Lordaeron as a hero, Arthas slew his own father and brought Lordaeron to its knees. He later slew his own mentor Uther to acquire his father's urn in order to transport the rotted remains of the necromancer Kel'thuzad to the Sunwell in Quel'thalas. He proceeded to lead his forces to invade the elven lands. The elves fought with determination, Ranger-General Sylvanas Windrunner's tactics delaying the Scourge war machine numerous times. Despite their resistance, the Scourge overwhelmed Silvermoon, and Arthas personally slew the Ranger-General and raised her as a banshee. Marching to the Sunwell, he killed King Anasterian Sunstrider in battle and raised the fallen necromancer as a lich, defiling the elves' sacred well. The aftermath of the massacre left the High Elves nearly extinct, with the majority of the remaining survivors rallying as the Blood Elves under King Anastarien's son Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider. Returning to Lordaeron, he led his forces towards their next goal in their master's plan: Dalaran. Their arrival was expected, and the mages had already evacuated most of the civilians and erected a number of defenses including protective fields that warded against undead and blocked all teleportations in and out of the city. With Kel'thuzad's knowledge, he sieged the city with his men, sacrificing many in order to progress through the streets and killed the archmages channeling the auras and murdered Archmage Antonidas, claiming his prize: the Book of Medivh. The following day, he defended his basecamp against the remaining forces in Dalaran as Kel'thuzad began summoning the Burning Legion to Azeroth. As the summoning progressed the barrier between Azeroth and the Twisting Nether weakened, allowing the Legion to send their own forces to aid the undead; Infernals rained from the burning skies and Hellhounds bolstered their ranks. The combined forces of the Scourge and the Legion held the forces of Dalaran at bay long enough for the summoning to end, and Archimonde the Defiler entered the world. At the mere sight of the demon commander, the remaining Dalaranian forces fled to the city. Archimonde then relieved the Lich King of the command of the Scourge and turned them over to the Dreadlords, and he proceeded to destroy Dalaran with a single powerful spell. Though he was not pleased with this turn of events, things remained calm for the next few months in Lordaeron. During this time, Archimonde was slain at the Battle for Mount Hyjal. Arthas began a coup to retake his throne as self-proclaimed king of Lordaeron, but he quickly began losing his powers due to his link with Ner'zhul weakening. Escaping the Royal Palace, he was ambushed by Sylvanas, whose spirit had returned to her body. Once more, the Lich King contacted him to warn him of a threat approaching the Frozen Throne, and he sailed north, leaving Kel'thuzad in charge of Lordaeron and the Plaguelands. Returning to Northrend, he raced against Illidan Stormrage and Kael'thas Sunstrider to reach Icecrown. Though it seemed hopeless, unexpected help in the form of the Nerubians and their king, Anub'arak, allowed him to take a faster route below ground through their former kingdom of Azjol-Nerub and catch up to Illidan. Seeing his most powerful servant so close, the Lich King granted Arthas with all the power he could, allowing him to take on Illidan and his forces. While his forces engaged the Blood Elves, he and the Demon Hunter fought in single combat, resulting in the destruction of Illidan's forces and his defeat. Leaving the fallen Demon Hunter, Arthas ascended to the Frozen Throne and shattered it with Frostmourne, freeing Ner'zhul. Placing the Helm of Domination upon his head, he fused with the Ner'zhul, making him the Lich King and giving him the former orc's mental abilities and his power of control over the undead. Sitting down on what was left of the Lich King's former prison, Arthas encased himself in ice and became dormant, using his mental power to control the undead. During this time, he overcame Ner'zhul's spirit, becoming the dominant personality of the Lich King. For nearly a decade he slept on the throne, finally awakening shortly after the end of the War in Outland. Mobilizing his forces for war, he invaded both Stormwind City and Orgrimmar, the capitals of the Grand Alliance and the New Horde. Recalling the dread citadel Naxxramas to Northrend, he instead sent the necropolis Acherus to destroy the Scarlet Crusade's enclave in the Eastern Plaguelands, personally showing up to give the new Death Knights of Acherus their commands. Decimated, the remaining Crusaders rallied under High General Brigitte Abbendis and sailed to Northrend as the Scarlet Onslaught, leaving the nearby Argent Dawn as the last bastion of hope in the Plaguelands towards which the Scourge's attention turned. The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel was the first turning point in the war against the Scourge. 300 defenders of the Light held the sacred ground against the ten thousand undead that were destroyed in the battle. Arthas personally showed up after drawing out the exiled knight of the Silver Hand Tirion Fordring, but Fordring claimed the Ashbringer, purifying the blade and wounding him, resulting in him retreating to Northrend. His former Death Knights were freed of his will and formed the Order of the Ebon Blade, and the Argent Crusade was formed from the merger of the Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand. Both factions pursued Arthas to Northrend alongside the Alliance and the Horde, slowly pushing towards Icecrown. At the end of the Siege of Icecrown Citadel, he was slain by Tirion Fordring and Frostmourne was shattered. With the blade destroyed, the souls withi were freed, and with the Helm of Damnation taken from him he returned to his former self. He lay dying in the comforting arms of his father and died shortly afterwards. With the Lich King dead, the Scourge threatened to rampage, and thus the mantle of the Lich King fell upon the shoulders of one Bolvar Fordragon, who took it upon himself to keep the Scourge in control as the Jailor of the Damned. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Order of the Silver Hand Category:Kingdom of Lordaeron Category:House of Menethil Category:Undead Scourge Category:Deceased Category:Death Knights Category:Paladins Category:Lordaeronian